title: Prenatal exposure to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and childhood overweight at 7 years of age.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate a possible association between prenatal selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) exposure and childhood overweight at 7 years of age.
  
  
  METHODS
  Information on pregnancy exposures and prevalence of childhood overweight at 7 years of age was obtained from the Danish National Birth Cohort. Overweight was classified as body mass index >85th percentile, based on age and sex. Based on an a priori hypothesis, we conducted analyses stratified by child sex to examine sex-specific differences.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of eligible pregnant women, 127 reported using an SSRI, 490 reported having a psychiatric illness but no psychotropic medication use, and 35,568 reported no psychiatric illness and no psychotropic medication use. In comparison to children of mothers with a psychiatric illness but no SSRI use during pregnancy, prenatal SSRI exposure overall was not associated with an increased risk of childhood overweight (adjusted prevalence ratio [aPR] 1.12; 95% confidence interval 0.71 to 1.77). However, when stratified according to child sex, an increased risk was observed among males (aPR 1.78; 95% CI, 1.01 to 3.12) but not females (aPR 0.86; 95% CI, 0.37 to 1.99). In contrast, female children of mothers with a psychiatric illness but no SSRI use during pregnancy were more likely to be overweight than female children of unexposed mothers (aPR 1.45; 95% CI, 1.05 to 2.02). This association was not mirrored among males (aPR 1.06; 95% CI, 0.76 to 1.50).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We observed the potential for opposing sex-specific differences in the long-term effects of prenatal exposure to SSRI use and/or maternal psychiatric illness on childhood overweight. Limitations of the present study suggest that further research in this area may be warranted with larger sample sizes and longer follow-up.
authors.affiliation: School of Pharmacy and Medical Sciences, Sansom Institute for Health Research, University of South Australia, Adelaide, Australia. Electronic address: Luke.Grzeskowiak@adelaide.edu.au.
authors.forename: Luke E
authors.initials: LE
authors.lastname: Grzeskowiak
authors.forename: Andrew L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Gilbert
authors.forename: Thorkild I A
authors.initials: TI
authors.lastname: Sørensen
authors.forename: Jørn
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Olsen
authors.forename: Henrik T
authors.initials: HT
authors.lastname: Sørensen
authors.forename: Lars H
authors.initials: LH
authors.lastname: Pedersen
authors.forename: Janna L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Morrison
mesh_terms: D000928:Antidepressive Agents / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001835:Body Weight / Q000187:drug effects; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003718:Denmark / Q000453:epidemiology; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000188:drug therapy*; D005260:Female; D047109:Fetal Development / Q000187:drug effects; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D009035:Mothers / Q000523:psychology; D050177:Overweight / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000523:psychology; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D017367:Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D012737:Sex Factors
chemical_list: D000928:Antidepressive Agents; D017367:Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors
keywords: Antidepressant agents/adverse effects; Body mass index; Body weight/drug effects; Depressive disorder/drug therapy; Fetal development/drug effects prenatal exposure delayed effects; Overweight; Pregnancy; Serotonin uptake inhibitors/adverse effects